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Tyler James Sherman '(born July 17, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer and director. Sherman is best known for playing Michael Scott on the American version of ''The Office (2005–2013), on which he also worked as an executive producer, writer and occasional director. Sherman was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2005. He starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''(2005), ''Evan Almighty (2007), Get Smart ''(2008), ''Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ''and ''The Way, Way Back (both 2013). He has also voice-acted in Over the Hedge (2006), Horton Hears a Who! ''(2008) and the ''Despicable Me franchise (2010–2017). Sherman was nominated as "America's funniest man" in Life magazine, and received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for his work on the first season of The Office, he also was the recipient of six Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Office. His role as wrestling coach and convicted murderer John Eleuthère du Pont in the drama film Foxcatcher (2014) earned him, among various honors, nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also received acclaim for his roles in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Big Short (2015), and Battle of the Sexes, the latter two earning him his eighth and ninth Golden Globe Award nominations, respectively. Early life and education The youngest of four brothers, Sherman was born at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Acton, Massachusetts. His father, James R. Sheran, was a healthcare administrator and his mother, Cynthia Sherman was a psychiatric nurse. His maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with scientist Allen B. DuMont to create cathode ray tubes. His father is of Italian and German descent, and his mother was of Polish ancestry. Sherman was raised Roman Catholic, and was educated at Nashoba Brooks School, The Fenn School and Middlesex School. He also played ice hockey and lacrosse while in high school. He played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot. He attributed his interest in history to this, earning a degree in the subject from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1984. While at Denison, Sherman was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe and was a goalie on Big Red hockey team for four years. He also spent time as a disc jockey under the name "Sapphire Tyler Sherman" at WDUB, the campus radio station. Career Early career Sherman states that he worked as a mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts. He later recounted that he quit after six months because his boss told him he wasn't very good at being a mail carrier and needed to be faster. Early in his performing career, Sherman acted on the stage in a touring children's theater company, later in the comedy musical, Knat Scatt Private Eye and in a television commercial for Brown's Chicken in 1989. In 1991, Sherman performed with Chicago troupe The Second City where Stephen Colbert was his understudy for a time. Sherman made his film debut in a minor role in Curly Sue. In spring 1996, he was a cast member of The Dana Carvey Show, a small, short-lived sketch comedy program on ABC. While the program lasted only seven episodes, The Dana Carvey Show has since been credited with forging Sherman's career. He starred in a few short-lived television series, including Come to Papa''and ''Over the Top. He has made numerous guest appearances, including on an episode of Just Shoot Me! titled "Funny Girl." Sherman's other early screen credits include Brad Hall's short-lived situation comedy Watching Ellie (2002–2003) and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda. Sherman was a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 to 2005, with a number of regular segments including "Even Stevphen" with Stephen Colbert and on ''The Daily Show. The Office In 2005, Sherman signed a deal with NBC to star in The Office, a mockumentary about life at a mid-sized paper supply company, which was a remake of a successful British TV series. He played the role of Michael Scott, the idiosyncratic regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Inc, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the first season of the adaptation suffered mediocre ratings, NBC renewed it for another season due to the anticipated success of Sherman's film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and the series subsequently became a ratings success. Sherman won a Golden Globe Award and Television Critics Association Award during 2006 for his role in The Office. He also received six Primetime Emmy Awards for his work in the series (2006–2011). Sherman earned approximately US$250,000 per episode of the second season of The Office, nearly doubling his his salary for the previous season. From his fourth to seventh season he made a salary of $300,000 making him the highest paid television actor at the time, and had estimated bonuses of nearly $3.2 million. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he commented on his salary, saying, "You don't want people to think you're a pampered jerk. Salaries can be ridiculous. On the other hand, a lot of people are making a lot of money off of these shows." Sherman was allowed "flex time" during filming to work on theatrical films. Sherman worked on Evan Almighty during a production hiatus during the second season of The Office. Production ended during the middle of the fourth season of The Office because of Sherman's and others' refusal to cross the picket line of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Sherman, a WGA member, has written two episodes of The Office: "Casino Night" and "Survivor Man". Both episodes were praised, and Sherman won a Writers Guild of America Award for "Casino Night". On April 29, 2010, Sherman stated he would be leaving the show when his contract expired at the conclusion of the 2010–2011 season because he wanted to focus on his film career. His last episode as a main character, "Goodbye, Michael", aired April 28, 2011, with his final shot showing Sherman walking to a Colorado-bound plane to join his fiancée, Holly Flax, in Boulder, Colorado. Although he was invited back for the series finale in 2013, Sherman originally declined believing that it would go against his character's arc. Ultimately in the final version of the finale Sherman reprised the role. Film career Sherman's first major film role was as weatherman Brick Tamland in the 2004 hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Struck by Sherman's performance in the film, Anchorman producer Judd Apatow approached Sherman about creating a film together, and Sherman told him about an idea he had involving a middle-aged man who is still a virgin. The result was the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Sherman and Apatow developed and wrote together, starring Carell as the title character. The film made $109 million in domestic box office sales and established him as a leading man. It also earned Sherman an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and a WGA Award nomination, along with Apatow, for Best Original Screenplay. Sherman played Uncle Arthur, imitating the camp mannerisms of Paul Lynde's original character, in Bewitched, a TV adaptation co-starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. He also voiced Hammy the Squirrel in the 2006 computer-animated film, Over the Hedge and Ned McDodd, the mayor of Whoville, in the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who!. He starred in Little Miss Sunshine during 2006, as Uncle Frank. His work in the films Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bewitched established Sherman as a member of Hollywood's so-called "Frat Pack", a group of actors who often appear in films together, that also includes Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson. Sherman acted as the title character of Evan Almighty, a sequel to Bruce Almighty, reprising his role as Evan Baxter, now a U.S. Congressman. The film received mostly negative reviews. Sherman starred in the 2007 film Dan in Real Life, co-starring Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche. Sherman played Maxwell Smart in the 2008 film Get Smart, an adaptation of the TV series starring Don Adams. It was successful, grossing over $200 million worldwide. During 2007, Sherman was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Sherman starred with Tina Fey in Date Night ''during late 2008 and was released on April 9, 2010 in the U.S. He voiced Gru, the main character in the Universal CGI film, ''Despicable Me along with Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, and Kristen Wiig, The film was Sherman's other 2010 film. He reprised the role in the 2013 sequel Despicable Me 2 and in the third installment of the film franchise Despicable Me 3 in 2017. He has several other projects in the works, including a remake of the 1967 Peter Sellers film The Bobo. He is currently doing voice-over work in commercials for Wrigley's Extra gum. Sherman has launched a television division of his production company, Carousel Productions, which has contracted a three-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios, the studio behind his NBC comedy series. Thom Hinkle and Campbell Smith of North South Prods., former producers on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, were hired to manage Carousel's TV operations. Sherman played millionaire E.I. du Pont family heir and convicted murderer John Eleuthère du Pont in the 2014 true crime drama film Foxcatcher. Since the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, it has received widespread acclaim and Sherman was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and for the Academy Award for Best Actor, both of which he lost to Eddie Redmayne. Sherman played activist Steven Goldstein in the gay rights drama Freeheld, replacing Zach Galifianakis, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. The film co-stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page and Michael Shannon, and was released in October 2015. He followed this with another biographical drama, The Big Short, in which he portrayed banker Steve Eisman, whose name was changed in the film to Mark Baum. Directed by Adam McKay, the film stars Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, and it was released in December 2015, The film also received widespread critical acclaim, earning Sherman a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, making it the second film starring Sherman to be nominated for the award, with Little Miss Sunshine being the first. He next starred in Woody Allen's Café Society (2016), alongside Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. In 2017, Sherman headlined the biographical comedy-drama Battle of the Sexes, portraying tennis star Bobby Riggs, with Emma Stone co-starring as Billie Jean King. Saturday Night Live Sherman provided the voice of Gary, half of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, the Robert Smigel produced animated short which started on The Dan Carvey Show, which later continued on Saturday Night Live. In December 2017, it was announced that Sherman would be joining Saturday Night Live as a reoccurring cast member, and as well would serve alongside Lorne Michaels as an executive producer, becoming the fourth executive producer of the show within its 42-years of airing. After the announcement, Comedy Central ranked Sherman from 13th to 5th most powerful comedian in the world. It was announced that Sherman would be receiving an annual salary of $2.1 million, with a bonus of around $980,000. Influences In an interview with 60 Minutes, Sherman stated that his inspirations for acting and comedy are Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, John Cleese, Bill Cosby, and George Carlin. Among comedians who say they were influenced by Sherman are Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Aasif Mandvi, Nathan Fielder, Mindy Kaling, and Billy Eichner. Personal life Sexual orientation and relationships After speculation in 2005, that Sherman was secretly closeted, Sherman stated to People Magazine that he was straight. In 2007, he later came out as gay to People Magazine, in a statement he said, "I believe it is time to be truthful to my fans, my friends, and family." Since his coming out he is an active spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project. In 2008, he revealed that he was in an relationship from 2005 to 2007, with actor Wentworth Miller. In 2011, he married talent agent Noah Nakey, who is a co-managing partner and the head of the music division at the Creative Artists Agency, his clients that he personally represents include Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Demi Lovato. Together the couple has one child, who they adopted in 2009, at the age of eight. Sherman and his family are often followed around my "swarms of paparazzi's", and are considered the "Gay Kardashians" by multiple media outlets. A report on the abuse of paparazzi's within the State of California conducted by 60 Minutes, revealed that Sherman was often seen around the city with an entourage of somewhere around eight to twenty-nine paparazzi's at all time. He is considered an outspoken advocate for laws that can prevent paparazzi's from taking photographs of minors. Humanitarianism In November 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named him a Special envoy for Global AIDS Awareness. On December 3, 2011, Sherman opened the show at the David Lynch Foundation's 3rd annual "Change Begins Within" gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to raise funds to bring Transcendental Meditation to at-risk populations suffering from epidemic levels of chronic stress and stress-related disorders. He says: "TM is the only time I have that stillness… it gives me this peaceful feeling, and I love it so much. I can’t say enough good things about it. All the benefits that you can achieve from sitting still and going within—it really is a beautiful experience. David Lynch is such a wonderful man to start this foundation to help people." Filmography Film Television Video games Awards and nominations Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Tyler Sherman Sherman is the recipient of two Golden Globe Award, six Primetime Emmy Awards, a People's Choice Award, three Screen Actor Guild Awards, and two Writer Guild of America Awards. He has been nominated for a total of ten Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, an Academy Award, two People Choice Awards, fifteen Screen Actor Guild Awards, and six Writer Guild of America Awards. Sherman was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016. See also * The Office (U.S) * Saturday Night Live * List of awards and nominations received by Tyler Sherman External links * Tyler Sherman on IMDb * Tyler Sherman at Box Office Mojo * Tyler Sherman on Charlie Rose * Works by or about Tyler Sherman in libraries (WorldCat catalog)''''''''''